Fatal cocktail of common drugs putting elderly at risk.

[heyokah]

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Hundreds of thousands of older people are being put at increased risk of death or developing dementia by taking combinations of common medicines to treat routine illnesses, according to a new study.


Well-known brands of hay fever tablets, painkillers and sleeping pills pose a previously unknown threat to people’s health when taken together, British scientists claim.


Many are available over the counter at pharmacies as well as being prescribed by GPs, nurses and chemists.


Today the scientists behind the study call for doctors to recognise how dangerous these drug combinations can be and to prescribe harmless alternatives instead.


Researchers from the University of East Anglia and the University of Kent identified 80 widely used medications that, when used in combination, were found to increase the risk of serious health problems.

The drugs, including common allergy treatments Piriton and Zantac, as well as Seroxat, an anti-depressant, are thought to be used by half of the 10  million over-65s in Britain. Many of the drugs, when taken in combination, were found to more than treble an elderly patient’s chance of dying within two years.

Common bladder medications, heart drugs, eye drops and asthma treatments were also among those found to pose a risk.

Read more:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8594677/Fatal-cocktail-of-common-drugs-putting-elderly-at-risk.html

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[crosby]

thanks heyokah for posting this information. my mom is taking several different medications and i have to watch her constantly to make sure she doesn't add anything else to the mix. it is very dangerous. i have spoken to her doctor on a few occasions to make sure she understands that i will not allow anything overboard. so, in turn, she only prescribes what my mother absolutely has to have. but i know many elderly in my area that are taking far too many prescribed meds and over-the-counter meds. and it is remarkable at the difference in their physical and emotional behavior. i just wish that all of their families were as watchful.
thanks again, great info.
warmest, corson

[conk]

thanks heyokah for posting this information. my mom is taking several different medications and i have to watch her constantly to make sure she doesn't add anything else to the mix. it is very dangerous. i have spoken to her doctor on a few occasions to make sure she understands that i will not allow anything overboard. so, in turn, she only prescribes what my mother absolutely has to have. but i know many elderly in my area that are taking far too many prescribed meds and over-the-counter meds. and it is remarkable at the difference in their physical and emotional behavior. i just wish that all of their families were as watchful.
thanks again, great info.
warmest, corson I doubt that there are any drugs she absolutely has to have. Mother Nature provides any and all remedies, if people are educated enough and willing to change.